I just noticed my Spicezee has a lot of PLC. Should I remove the leaves and spray it with copper? Since its fully leafed out is it too late to hit with copper?
The spicezee is not in my orchard but rather it is a stand along tree in another portuon of my property. I guess I failed to hit it during my dormant sprays.
Let it be for now. In fall rake and discard leaves of affected tree and spray all the peaches with copper. Repeat in early spring before buds are open.
How big is a tree? If it is small, I pick out the veryvugly leaves but like @galinas said, nothing you need to do this tear. If you want, you can feed the tree with urea to push more growth.
Last year, my mature peach trees looked sluggish, I gave them a karge dose of urea this spring, they respond positively.
Thanks. The tree is pretty small. Its growth was stunted for a few years prior to moving it to a new location. Since moving the tree its a bit more vigorous and im giving it another year or two to see how it responds.
Feed it with urea. Peach loves it.
We don’t have any place near us selling a 50 lb bag so I use the Espoma 5lb bag.
@mamuang how much do you apply of this urea per tree? I assume you apply it once in mid spring or so.
My nectarine trees have lost some foliage after spraying them with copper ten days ago (for bacterial spot), and I am thinking of borrowing your idea to help my trees recover and feed their numerous fruitlets…
Ahmad,
I follows the peach guru, @Olpea ‘s advice, half a lb for 1-2 year old spread 3-4 feet from the trunk. Do not get urea next tothe trunk of a young tree, it could burn roots.
We don’t have any store near by that sell a 50 lb bag. Mine is more expensive. Mark said his 50 lb bag is cheap but need to be watered in right away to prevent volitizing.
Espoma urea is coated to prevent volitizing but I still put it down when rain is expected. Yes, I put it when peach trees start to show sign of life. I think applying later in the spring won’t hurt either.
Ok great. My local ag shop sells that exact same stuff. Thanks
Using Kocide or generic works well for prevention. It has 4 times the copper of the liquid, and in a form that is more effective against fungi. Using a sticker with pinene keeps it on the trees too. Here is a bud after 2 weeks and plenty of rain.
Can that be applied after leaf out?
Not in the dose used at dormancy, we have an amount to use in our reference section, but warns to test first. I would test a scaffold first. It’s no doubt the best form of copper to use. Myself using it once a year as a dormant spray has resulted in zero peach leaf curl. I also do a lime-sulfur dormant spray in the fall, copper in late winter before bud break.
Most experts say not to treat it once it occurs. That nothing will help. Some feel removing the leaves hurts the tree more than leaving them. I’m not sure which approach is right once infected?
Here are pictures of the leaf curl on SpiceZee. I have Ho ey Royal grafted to the same tree and its fine.
I have the same problem here… it’s endemic. 
I have 20 or so peaches/nectarines and despite having sprayed 3 times with Daconil, I am seeing a few infected leaves per tree. I have been picking and disposing of infected leaves. but I am wondering if this does any good or even if it is advisable.Could it be that I am spreading the fungus by doing so?
Also I am seeing an unusually high percentage of doubles while thinning fruit. Could some sprays have some sort of hormonal effect?
This problem has reared its ugly head again. I failed to spray copper this past dormant season and my SpiceZee is infected worse than ever. Since you aren’t supposed to spray copper on leafed out trees, would it help to spray lime sulfur on this tree prior to giving it a dose of Urea to try and push new growth? My thinking is that without a fungicide application the new folliage will also get infected.
The leaf curl is much worse now that when I created this thread a few years ago. I don’t think I want to de-leaf the tree at this point becuase it would remove practically all the folliage.
I would forget it for the season and remember to spray copper with a sticker this fall and winter. I have done the same, and removed the unsightly (ugly red leaves).
Yeah once you see it it’s too late to spray. You could but it won’t work. My copper was sprayed at least a month ago. As time goes on it will eventually enter fruit and such too plus all the fruit’s sugar come from its leaves. In some areas it can even kill the tree.
from what i understood, as soon as the tree is out of dormancy it can easily activly fight the leaf curl. And so the buds it will regrow from next. won’t have it. However the leafes that are currently infected, that damage can’t be undone.
Id just water it well. fertilise it a bit. But don’t overfertilise it.
David,
From what I read, those infected leaves will drop on their own and new leaves will emerge. I don’t see harm in spraying with lime-sulfur at that time but don’t know how much, if any, it will help.
What concerning is when the tree defoliates, the fruit will suffer. Some fruit may have already infected. You may need to remove a lot of fruit.
I am sorry that you have had so much trouble growing fruit in your area.
Whoa! are you sure that’s correct- sounds like a bit of an overdose to me. Cornell recommends .6 to one ounce actual N per young tree at bud break and a second app a month later for young trees.
They say the best way to do it is with a fertilizer dissolved in water and, interestingly, call for more overall N when applied through fertigation, which I do not understand.
Olpea farms in heavy soil, in sandy soils more frequent apps may be especially useful. I get around it by using a 90 day coated urea which is available by the bag from John Deere commercial suppliers at a good price. Their formula does include a bit of K, which probably isn’t needed if you mulch with a wood based product.
There is no use in spraying infected leaves as you suggest. You can’t even wait long after first growth apparently. I find I can get control when I hold off a bit so I can spray apples with oil at the same time. Apples reach green tip before peaches start showing green here.
I have never done fall sprays to control PLC because a single spring spray has absolutely controlled it on repeated occasions, whether with copper or chlorothalonil.
I had a scare this season because I included oil with chlor before reading that it was a phytotoxic mix because chlor contains sulfur. However, leaves and flowers do not appear to have been damaged at all, maybe because they were so early in development.
